Shot Through The Heart
by RaeEcho
Summary: Leo loves his brother, and he would do anything to protect him. Even if it meant taking a hit that could cost him his life. One moment of bad judgement was all it took. That, and a massive amount of blood loss. Too bad he had both. For Miss Asteria Malfoy
1. Chapter 1

A/N- I've have another Leo fic! This is for a request from Miss Asteria Malfoy, I hope it meets your expectations. I can guarantee that you will hate me by the end.

Also, I'm actually trying to stay within the overall story line of the books, so this takes place while the building of the Argo II is going down.

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><p>Leo was hiding. He tried to deny it, but he knew deep down that was exactly what he was doing. There would honestly be no other reason for him to be sitting on the outskirts of the archery range in the bushes. He hated the archery range with a passion. After all, why would he want to go anywhere near the place where it was open season on Leos all year round?<p>

Apollo campers just loved to show him how much they cared. He just wished their caring would involve a few less arrows. No matter how many times an arrow embedded itself into the ground at his feet or in a tree by his face, he jumped almost a foot in the air. He was by no means a fan of archery. Unless of course it was a done by a machine he designed himself, and was eighty-nine percent sure that it would shoot him. Machines were reliable, people on the other hand, could only be trusted as far as he could spit.

He didn't mean to sound paranoid and anti-people, but he didn't have a good track record on the subject.

Anyway, back to whole business with the archery range.

The only reason he was there in the first place was because he needed to be alone. It seemed like everyone was determined to keep him from having five minutes of Leo time. He only needed a few minutes to himself to collect his thoughts, but he couldn't even get that much.

Everyone needed him for everything, and Leo was driving himself crazy trying to be what everyone needed him to be. If he didn't find a place to be by himself, he was going to snap. He wasn't thrilled with where he found, but it was better than nothing.

He had reached his limit, and if one more ounce of pressure was put on his thin shoulders, he was positive flames would start bursting out of him at random moments. Which he was sure that would be a bad for him considering the light breeze in the air. Wind spread fire, and as the girls in the trees liked to remind him, fire was evil.

Leo didn't want to be evil. It wasn't like he had much of a choice, but when did anyone ever get a choice in their fate?

A sigh escaped his lips as he thought about the issue with his powers. All that brought him was a lot of pain, and a lot of regrets. Mostly because every single thought he had about the matter in general, always led back to her. His mom, but more importantly her death and what it meant.

Leo found himself fighting back tears that started to prick at the corners of his eyes. He instantly scrubbed them away with the back of his hand, not even bothering to check and see if it was covered in grease or not.

Ever since she had died, he was on his own. Nobody cared about him, nobody needed him, but more importantly, no one expected anything out of him. That had to be the only blessing that had come out of the whole ordeal. Low expectations meant breathing room, and he wished he knew just how oxygen deprived he would become at camp. If he had known, he would have thought twice before getting on that flying chariot. Once again, he had no choice in the matter, but he could still pretend he had some control over his life. Well, he could at least in his mind. It was childish and stupid, but it was better than repeatedly banging his head against a rock.

In reality, he was screwed. The amount of control he had was equivalent to the same amount held by a goldfish. He could swim wherever the hell he wanted to, but always be stuck in the same glass bowl. Always having people stop and look at him as if he were on display.

He wasn't ready for all that attention, he wasn't ready to have a family, but everything boiled back down to the control factor. Fate had given him everything and in return, took his peace of mind. He was stuck in the one place he couldn't be, and he couldn't get away from it. He couldn't run away anymore, because people would bring him back. He had stability, and he hated it.

Then, of course, there was the whole reason he wanted to be alone in the first place. He had drifted far from his original subject, but it seemed like no matter how many detours he went on, they all led back to the same place. The reason he was hiding.

If he were to go into detail about the golden reason, the best way he could describe it was being pulled into so many different directions that if it were to keep going any longer, he would resemble a piece of taffy. It seemed like every single person at camp wanted a slice of Leo.

If his siblings weren't asking for his opinion or help on a section of the Argo II, it was Annabeth wanting an update on their progress, Nyssa wanting to spar, or only gods know what else. As much as his attutide screamed that he was an attention grabber, in actuallity, he was the exact opposite.

At the foster homes they didn't care enough to know if he was there or not. It was all about the money for them, and Leo was okay with that. It was the perfect relationship. He would run away and be alone, like he preferred, and they would collect their checks for a few months before reporting that he had run away. By then he would've been half way across Texas or whatever gods forsaken state he was in. It wasn't perfect, but he managed. He almost missed the freedom.

Almost.

There was just something about not having to sleep in sewers and alleys every night. However, he still wasn't happy.

He was confused, uncomfortable, and terrified. His best friends... Scratch that... Only friends were ignoring him. He was sure they didn't mean to, but they still did.

Piper was his only confident, and he couldn't even get her alone to speak with her for more than a few seconds. She was always with Jason, and he was always way to busy for him to even considering talking to. It hurt a little knowing that the two people he trusted more than anything were completely blind to his inner turmoil. He was left with no one, but his brothers and sisters. It wasn't much considering they were all practically strangers. They did their best to make him feel welcome, but he didn't feel like he clicked with anyone.

Well, except for Harley, but that charming little eight year old could get along with anybody. He loved his little brother to death, and he was pretty sure that was what was frightening him so bad.

He was breaking his number one, all time, 'never ever supposed to break' rule ever. He was becoming attached.

"Move you idiot!" A voice shouted in the distance, making Leo jump and fall over. It was just his luck that that someone had found him. The only thing keeping him from flipping out was the slim chance that they weren't talking to him.

It wasn't much, but it was all he had. So, he waited. His body subconsciously shifting on the rocks that scrapped against his back beneath his thin shirt. He tried his very best no to make a sound either. It was almost like of the world couldn't hear him, then they couldn't find him.

Minutes passed, and no one came.

The son of Hephaestus let out a breath of relief and instead of getting back up, he stayed completely still. He wasn't particularly comfortable, but he had been in worse places. Memories flashed through his mind, but Leo pushed them away. He didn't want to think of his past. He really didn't want to think at all anymore. His whole situation in general was giving him a killer migraine.

So, he did the only thing he could think about to get his mind off of everything that didn't include tools... He zoned out.

His eyes drifted across the ground's bumpy surface, and he could hear and feel his breath start to become even. His heart beat was completely steady and for the first time in a long time, he was relaxed. His eyes continued to roam before settling on an ant not far from his head. The little red guy was just walking around, lost, and carrying something that was four sizes bigger than he was.

A small frown fell on his lips as he compared the insect to himself. Maybe that's all he really was, an insect.

"I said move you freak!" The voice yelled again, and it once again, spurred Leo out of his thoughts. The voice was still in the distance, but unless some poor unfortunate sap was standing in the middle of the archery range, they were talking to him. All he could do was just accept it, get up, and wonder how the guy who was yelling at him had such damn good eyesight. His diet must have been completely centered around carrots.

Deciding not to waste another minute rolling around in the dirt, with a groan, he lifted himself off the ground. Sticks and dirt clung to his t-shirt, and he could feel a few of them leave tiny imprints on his back. He tried his best to brush himself off, but he knew that pieces still clung to him like little pieces of tape. Very uncomfortable tape.

Sticks and twigs clung to his hair as well and he could feel them poke at his neck and weigh down sections of his curls. It would take way to long to even attempt fighting them out of his hair's clutches so he settled for running his hand through it multiple times.

He could see dirt fly from his head and scatter in the breeze, but he knew that he was still a mess. To him, it was just one more thing for people to judge him about.

Steeling his nerves for the onslaught of pressure that lay beyond his makeshift sanctuary, Leo walked out from behind the bushes. It didn't take him long to figure out that nobody had found his hiding place, but there was a poor sap standing right in the middle of the range. What he didn't expect was the poor guy to be his favorite little brother.

Harley.

He was standing in the middle of the archery range, staring down a bunch of Apollo kids like he was king of the world. His little burly arms were crossed and despite his overall mechanic appearance, he still looked like an eight year old. An eight year old with oil smeared overalls, but still eight nonetheless. Which equaled out to, not very intimidating.

"Move you freak, this is your last chance!" The voice yelled again. Leo found himself following the offending voice right back to its originator.

A blonde Apollo kid, roughly about his height, was throwing what could only be described as a temper tantrum. The kid was ranting and raving, but he was too far away for him to sort out any of the words flying from his mouth. All he knew was whoever the kid was, he was making Leo uncomfortable. Not only because of the bow that rested in his hands and the arrows in their quiver on his back, but also by the fact that Leo had the strange feeling that the kid was going to shoot his brother. Flashes of his kind brother laying on his back with arrows sticking out of him at odd angles plagued his mind, and Leo had to almost physically stop his fire abilities from rushing out of him. However, he did feel his temperature rise, and weak smoke smell fill his nose.

"Make me!" Harley shouted back, and he turned his back on the older kid. Even from his position, Leo could tell Harley was scared. There was no way that he would even be on the range without a good reason. He was way to much like Leo for that to happen. He also knew that the Apollo kid wasn't happy with his little bro's proclamation either.

Harley had made a big mistake. The eight year old was going off the presumption that the kid wouldn't shoot him. He hadn't realized that he had just done the equivalent pf poking a lion with a stick. He didn't know that as soon as he turned his back the Apollo camper was notching an arrow out of anger and pointing it at him. Above all, he didn't know that he was about to be killed because of one kid's brief flash of anger and lack of self control.

Protective instincts surged through Leo and before he knew what he was doing, he was running. Faster than he ever ran before. Even when he was running from the cops he had never moved so fast.

His feet pounded against the ground in an hasty yet steady tempo, and the world seemed to dim around him. All he could see was Harley, and the boy who was about to be firing an arrow.

The blond Apollo kid was pulling back on his bow's string, and Leo put on another burst of speed. Harley still had his back turned, and Leo knew that if he didn't do something, Harley was going to die.

Distance between him and his destination ceased to exist, and Leo knew that he had to time his move perfectly.

The Hispanic teen went barreling toward his brother, and he briefly saw Harley's brown eyes widen at Leo coming at him at such a fast speed with a look of pure determination and distress on his face. In a quick fluid motion, he grabbed his brother with one arm and slung the kid behind him with enough force to send the younger boy to the ground. He didn't even have time to see if Harley was okay, because he was too busy on the arrow that was flying straight at him. He thought the kid would come to his senses if Leo was to intervene, but he was wrong. Maybe not wrong, but definitely too late.

A thwacking sound filled the air, and a foreign pain filled his stomach.

Leo was vaguely aware of the screams that sounded around him, he just wished he could say the same for the white hot pain that was taking over his body.

Against better judgement, he looked down, and seeing an arrow stick straight out of his stomach made him want to be sick. To see something move up and down with each gasping breath he took, and to see blood stream out of the place where it penetrated his tanned skin was more than he could handle.

He fell to his knees. He knew being shot was painful, but if were to be his normal self he would kind of feel like a wimp for taking it as bad as he was. He just couldn't seem to bring himself to care. Especially when he felt blood start to drip out of his mouth. How was that possible? He was sure he had been shot in the stomach, or was he?

His thoughts were becoming one jumbled mess, and the only thing he could guarantee was that he felt like his stomach was burning. It was like someone had stuck a lit welding rod right through his skin, and that pain was rushing away from that spot through his veins to the rest of his body. It was almost as if the arrow had been poisoned. Now that he thought about it, it probably was.

It was a strange sensation, being burned. It had never happened to him before, but now that it had, he determined that it was the worst feeling in the world.

It didn't take him long after that to crumple completely to the ground. He didn't even notice that someone had caught him. He was losing his fight with consciousness, and the only comfort he had before the black overcame him, was that he knew his little brother was safe.

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><p>Harley was a tough kid, and he didn't cry often. He had been through a lot in his short life. His mom kicked him out when he was six, and it took almost five months before anyone came for him. He didn't blame camp half blood for his time alone though. After all, they were dealing with Kronos, and from the stories the older campers told, he was glad he wasn't there. However, there was only so much he could take.<p>

For instance, his favorite brother in the whole world dying in front of him.

Leo Valdez was the best older brother he could ever ask for. He helped him with projects, kept people from picking on him, and always managed to sneak him candy when Nyssa wasn't looking. Most of the time they were mints, but he wasn't complaining. His past may have been a mystery, but ever since they had started working on the wiring of the Argo II together, they were close. The guy was a genius. Not in a million years would he have guessed that his best would be his brother, but he was. Leo always had his back, and now he may never have it again.

It all happened so fast. Harley had been out on the archery range looking for Leo only minutes before his world came crashing down on him.

Out of nowhere, Apollo campers started demanding him off the field so they could practice. He honestly didn't see why they needed to. Not once had he ever seen an Apollo kid miss a target, so why would they need to practice? So, he ignored them, and shouted a little. He had to find Leo to ask for his help on the getting the launch mechanism on his mash potato catapult to work. He knew he shouldn't have turned his back on his enemies, but he thought they weren't going to hurt him.

He was wrong.

Silence fell across the range, and Harley felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. He almost turned around too, but that's when Leo made his appearance. His older brother was running. Not just running strait at him with wind blowing his hair around his face. His expression terrified Harley. He had the expression of someone running from a monster crossed with the look a pure focus. Leo knew something he didn't.

Harley decided at that point he needed to turn around, but just as he made his move, a force grabbed him around the middle and flung him to the ground. His knees were protected by his overalls, but the same couldn't be said for his hands. Scratches opened on his palms, and the dull sting kind of ticked him off a little. People shouldn't throw others to the ground.

The eight year old was ready to yell at whoever had threw him, but his voice died in his throat as he saw Leo standing with his back to him. At first he was puzzled, but when Leo fell to his knees, he knew what had happened.

"Leo!" He yelled, and his voice cracked with the strain of the pitch. He could hear others in the background yelling for help and to get Jason, but he couldn't focus on them.

Springing into action, he jumped up and grabbed his brother before he could fall to the ground. It wasn't easy, and if Leo wasn't hurt Harley would have suggested he go on a diet. He just couldn't bring himself to do it. He had to sit there and watch as Leo's form shook in pain, and to hear each gasp he made as he tried to breathe. All Harley could do was sit there with the knowledge that he couldn't do anything to help. Which was becoming the hardest thing he had ever had to do. Why couldn't people be like machines.

Tears started streaming down his face, and despite his rule not to cry in front of anyone, he couldn't stop. Leo's eyes were started to shut, and blood started to pool in his mouth as well as streaming out from the arrow wound in his stomach, staining his white t-shirt.

"L-leo." He cried, and he brought his hands up to the older boy's shoulders and shook him gently. He didn't get a response.

"Leo?" He repeated and he moved his hands from Leo's shoulders to his heart. He had to know if he was alive. The normal loud pulse that he normally gave off, was slow and dull. A groan escaped through his brother's lips and Harley jumped in surprise.

"Bro, wake up." The order flew from his mouth, and he prayed to his dad that Leo would follow it, "Come on, Leo. You promised you'd never leave me." He yelled in frustration and before he could shake his brother's shoulders again, arms wrapped around his stomach, and started to drag him away from his brother. Only for the older boy to be quickly surrounded by a group of healers. They were probably trying to help, but they blocked his view.

Using every ounce of strength he had, he fought the person holding him back. He wanted to see Leo.

"Calm down!" His captor yelled, and Harley felt the arms restraining him tighten almost painfully, "This isn't going to help him." The voice insisted. He knew whoever was holding him was right, and he immediately froze. He had basically become dead weight, and the guy holding him took full advantage of this and began to carry him away from the swarm of healers.

"It's going to be okay." He whispered, and Harley knew that the guy was lying which was kind of annoying. He was eight not stupid. With as much force as he could muster, he kicked the guy as hard as he could in the leg, and he felt himself tumble out of the older boy's arms.

"Harley, calm down. It's me. Jason." The blonde said gently, and Harley felt himself being grabbed by the shoulders. He was turned so quickly his head spun, and he was face to face with Jason. His blue eyes looked at him with understanding and equal pain and he couldn't hold back anymore.

Harley threw his tiny muscular arms around his brother's best friend's neck and buried his face in his shoulder. Sobs started pouring out of him, shaking his entire frame. They weren't the normal kind either. These weren't loud and wail like, they were almost silent, and they almost felt like they actually hurt.

He knew he should be embarrassed that he was ruining the camp leader's shirt, but Harley couldn't stop. Mostly because he could still hear the healers over his break down.

"We have to do this now!"

"Are you crazy? We can't just pull it out here!"

"If we don't get this arrow out now he'll die. You know as well as I do that it's coated with poison!"

"Uh guys, I think he's stopped breathing."

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><p>Do you hate me? I totally had you going. This is a two shot so put down the pitch forks. I'm just making you wait for the conclusion. The joke's on you. Mwhaha.<p>

Please review. I live off of them. (And peanut butter, but that's not the point.) As always, I have no beta. See any mistakes, please point them out, and then ignore them. Now, go review!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N- I'm back... And the massive cliffhanger I left you with hangs no more! So, by all means, enjoy the ending of my two-shot, because I enjoyed writing it for you. As it was in the previous chapter, this is for Miss Asteria Malfoy.

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><p><em>"Uh guys, I think he's stopped breathing."<em>

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><p>Leo had barely been awake for more than a second before he realized he was lost. He just felt like he shouldn't be there. Black surrounded him, but it wasn't the darkness he was used to. For starters, he could see, not there was a lot to look at. He knew that he wasn't in the darkness offered by unconsciousness, nor was he in the black of sleep. There was something different about the kind of black he was in. It was terrifying, it was cold, and something was there with him. Something was watching him and waiting patiently for an unknown signal. Something worse than anything he had ever faced, and the worst part was that Leo couldn't see it. Whatever it was, was a monster even to the monsters.<p>

_"I am not a monster, Leo."_ A whisper sounded from within the darkness. Leo jumped in surprise and scrambled to his feet. There was no way he would be caught off guard again. His hands instantly went to his tool belt, only to find that the coarse materiel of his belt was not secured around his waist. It confused him how that was possible considering he almost never took the thing off, and upon a brief inspection he realized that his tool belt was not the only thing missing from his appearance.

His jeans, t-shirt, and sneakers were gone, and in their place were white drawstring pants, accompanied with the cleanest white shirt Leo had ever worn. Not only was he lost, but some sicko had changed him into clothes that made him look like a scrawny marshmallow.

A chuckle rang through the air.

"W-who's there?" Leo yelled, and he backed up a few paces. His call was met with silence.

"Who's there?" He asked again, but his voice changed without his permission and he came out sounding like a scared little kid.

_"Child, you should be scared."_ The voice sounded like it was right next to his ear, and a shiver made its way down Leo's spine. It took everything he had not to turn around. Something at the back of his mind was telling him he wouldn't like what he saw.

"Who are you?"

_"I am inevitable."_ The voice said, and Leo could have swore he heard footsteps around him, walking in a loose circle.

"That must have been killer to write on your algebra homework." The remark came out before he could stop it, but he had always been good at deflecting fear behind laughter.

_"I like you, boy. You have spirit."_

"Who are you?" Leo yelled. He was fed up. He wanted answers, and he wanted them as quickly as possible. He had been shot with a poisonous arrow, entrapped in darkness, and was talking a a disembodied voice that he wasn't even sure existed, he was tired, and he was about ready to bite someone's head off.

_"Temper, temper. I can guarantee you that I am very real."_ The voice taunted him, and it seemed to be able to pick up on his thoughts as if they were being read off a page.

"Why am I here?"

_"Now you're asking the important questions, but I think you already know the answer to that one."_ Realization dawned on Leo as the events that led him there replayed before his eyes. Harley in danger, himself jumping in the way, being shot, and how his heart felt like it had stopped...

"Am I dead?"

_"No, but good guess."_

"B-But I stopped breathing." Leo stuttered, and he wanted to deny it. He couldn't be dead, but he knew as sure as hell that he wasn't in Kansas anymore, let alone his body. He didn't want to believe that he would never open his eyes again, see his friends, build machines, or whatever normal fifteen year olds were supposed to do. But after years of playing into his delusions that everything would get better he knew better. He knew he was dead.

_"You are not dead."_ The voice said sternly, and another chill ransacked its way through him.

"Then where am I?"

_"In between."_

"In between what?"

_"Again with the questions you already have an answer to."_ The voice's tone was filled with annoyance, and mild amusement. It was like Leo was a new toy that he just figured out how to play with.

"I don't know."

_"Yes you do."_

"No I don't." He insisted.

_"Between life and death."_

"Like Limbo?"

_"No, like in between there and beyond." _

"Yeah, because that makes much more sense." Leo scoffed and he rolled his eyes. If he wasn't dead and wasn't alive then what was he? More importantly how was he going to get out of the darkness? His first instinct was use his fire abilities, but he couldn't feel them. It was like he was disconnected from them. No, he felt like he was yanked away from them like an xbox controller, and ended up with his wires crossed.

With that hope crushed, Leo focused on the things that could help him, but all he found were images of the last seconds of his life. Running, a flash of pain, Harley, all stuck on a repeat in his mind. His little brother crying stuck a out the most, and every time his brother's face appeared in his mind, he panicked. He didn't even know if Harley was okay. Something in him snapped and he needed to make sure Harley was okay. Leo just couldn't figure out hoe, and it didn't seem like tall, dark, and ominous was going to help him much.

_"Your brother is fine, Leo, and as to your question, what do you think you are?" _The voice assured, being surprising helpful and equally irritating at the same time.

"Confused."

_"You have every right to be, but that doesn't change the issue at hand. Leo Valdez, what do you think you are?"_

"I-I-I don't know." Admitting it out loud was hard, but he knew he had to. He had no idea who he was, what his purpose was, or why everyone thought he was so special. He just wanted to know something. Anything. He wanted to be sure of something.

_"Be sure of this, child, you mean something."_

"What?"

_"You are something important. There will be a time that you will be called upon for greatness, but until then you cannot lose your way._"

"Do you have a map I could borrow then?"

_"This is not a path anyone can show you. You must find it yourself."_

"Then why are you here? What do you want with me, and why do you even care about my path? I don't even know who you are!" Leo yelled and his frustration was growing to the point where it was about to overflow. He was tired of the darkness. He was tired of fighting something that he couldn't see.

_"I'm here to see what all the fuss was about. Some very powerful people are interested in you, and now that I'm here, I see why."_

"Why?"

_"You could make or break this war."_

"W-What? I'm just me."

_"And that's exactly my point, and as to who I am, my name is Thanatos."_ Thanatos said slowly, and as his identity was revealed, Leo understood why he had been feeling so nervous. He had been having a lovely chat with death himself.

"What do you want with me?"

_"Nothing really. I have a fascination with self-destruction. How can I not with the countless men I've led to their deaths by using it, and yours, Leo, is one of the worst cases I've ever seen. I find it exciting to find a case as severe as yours, and have no hand in creating it. It's refreshing to say the least."_ Thanatos chuckled darkly.

"So you're here because you're a sadistic bastard. Is that right?"

_"I'm far from sadistic, young hero. Truth be told, I was bored. Being taken prisoner is not nearly as exciting as one would be led to believe. I was recently freed by a few demigods, much like yourself, and I decided to acquaint myself with the remainder of the seven."_

"I don't under-" Leo started, but Thanatos was quick to cut him off.

_"I am afraid we are out of time, Leo. Don't stray from your path."_

"Wait!" Leo called out, but he knew it was in vain. His audience with the god of death was over, and he knew he should have been more upset over it. However, he was more concerned with the burning pain in his stomach, and the white light that was cutting through the darkness.

"Don't go into the light." He mocked under his breath, but his words were lost as the light in engulfed him, sending him spiraling back to the land of the living.

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><p>Jason couldn't look away. As much as he wanted to, he just couldn't drag his eyes away from the prone figure of his best friend. The younger teen's chest wasn't moving and it was obvious that the son of Hephaestus was dead. He was gone, and the arrow that ended it all was still sticking out of his stomach like a sick monument to the act of violence that killed him. He was killed by a camper, someone just like him. Not Gaea, not in the war, or not even outside the camp's borders. He was murdered by accident, and that was an awful way to go.<p>

Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes, but he wasn't going to let them fall. The only thing he allowed his eyes to do was stare. Partailly because it dried them out, but also because there was so much to look at. Anything was better than processing what had just happened to his best friend. The best friend he had been ignoring for weeks.

Forcing himself away from his regrets, he focused on his surroundings. He hadn't gotten a good look when he first ran over to see what was happening. First and foremost was the crowd that had gathered around them. Each of them were huddled so close together that Jason could barely see in between them. Gasps and muffled cries rang throughout the group of demigods and he could see Piper trying to hold back a very distraught Nyssa. He could also see a few of Leo's brothers and sisters with shell shocked expressions on their faces like they couldn't believe that their invincible leader had died.

Now that he thought about it, he couldn't believe that Leo was gone either. At any minute Leo was going to pop up and say 'Gotcha' before going on about the looks on their faces. He had to.

"Take the arrow out!" One of the healers yelled, her voice shaking.

Jason didn't see the point. They all knew he was dead. Proof enough was the fact that Jason was left holding his sobbing little brother. Leo was already on his way to the Underworld.

Jason had lost people before, good people who he considered friends. Even if he couldn't remember all the details surrounding their deaths, he knew what loss felt like. But not once had he ever had to hold a crying eight year old who had just watched his brother die. His past was a blur, but he would have remembered having to deal with his own grief along with the grief of a little kid who had a choke hold around his neck. A very impressive choke hold, he might add. Hulk Hogan would have been jealous.

"Hold him down, and get ready with the nectar. I think he's still got a chance." The healers scrambled to follow their leader's order, and Jason could only watch in silence as the group of teenagers pinned Leo to the ground. Each of his arms and legs had a person pressing them firmly against the blood stained grass.

As they moved he could feel tear stains seeping through his shirt and hear a sniffle from the head resting on his shoulder.

The girl who had demanded the arrow's removal positioned herself above the Hispanic teen, and one hand gripped the arrow while the other pressed firmly against Leo's stomach for leverage. She was going to yank the arrow out, but still Jason watched. He knew it wasn't going to be a pretty sight, but a small part of him still held a hope that Leo could be saved. That alone was enough to keep him watching.

"Ready?" The girl asked, and a boy got on her other side carrying what appeared to be a jug of nectar. He answered her with a nod.

The entire process couldn't have lasted more than a second, but that second seemed longer. In one quick precise movement the arrow was free and dripping Leo's blood on the ground. The entire shaft was covered with blood, and the squishing sound that came from the action still rang in his ears. But it was nothing compared to what came next.

The boy with the jug practically dumped the entire container of nectar into Leo's wound, and Jason subconsciously clutched Harley closer to him. That much nectar had the potential to kill someone, and he couldn't imagine even coming into contact with that much of the godly drink.

That didn't mean that the nectar didn't do its job, because it set into effect instantly.

Leo's eyes snapped open and he took a breath. It sounded painful, and like there was something blocking his airflow, but it still meant one thing, Leo was alive.

Relief flooded him, and he would have smiled if not for the scream that came quickly afterwards. A scream that no human should ever make. It was a raw sound of pure pain, and it felt like it should be coming out of an animal, not Leo. For the first time ever, it seemed like Leo was burning. Leo's faced scrunched up and the scream seam to die in his throat, only to be replaced by more choked gasps. Each gasp of breath he took sounded like a fish out of water. It was like he was drowning.

It didn't make any sense to him, but he quickly figured it out as a stream of red trickled out of Leo's mouth.

Leo was choking on his own blood, and Jason was sure he was going to be sick.

The worst part, however, had to be the bigger reactions Leo's body had to the nectar. His very frame shook like he was being electrocuted and his pinned limbs started to pull madly against the healers' grips. His back arched like he was being stabbed.

Silent tears streamed down his cheeks and his fire powers seemed to rise up to protect him, because steam and smoke started to curl off his skin in small whiffs, but he wasn't strong enough to burn anyone.

Jason felt Harley jerk in his arms, trying to turn his head and see what was happening, but Jason wouldn't let him. The kid didn't need to see it, and Jason was more than happy to place his hand on the back of little Harley's head and prevent it himself.

"W-what's-"

"Shhh." Jason ordered and Harley fell silent.

"He's back. Let's get him to the big house." The girl shouted, and together, the group of healers lifted Leo between them and he groaned in protest. Jason wanted them to stop because of his friend's pain, but he knew he had to let them go. They were going to help him. Plus, there was other business he had to attend to.

There was a certain son of Apollo that had to be dealt with immediately, and Jason was shaking in anticipation. Someone was going to get a can of whoop ass, and Jason was ready with his can opener.

"Is Leo going to be okay?" A timid voice cut sharply through his revenge fantasies, and Jason looked down to see the pale tear stricken face of Leo's favorite little brother.

"I hope so." He replied and he moved his hand from the kid's hair only to start rubbing circles on his back.

"Hope and wishes only work in movies."

"Who told you that?"

"Leo."

"Figures." Jason scoffed, and he sent Harley back on his feet.

"What?"

"Nothing. Harley can you do me a favor?" Jason asked and he rested his hands on Harley's shoulder. He could feel a small tremor run through them, but he brushed it off. Harley was stronger than he gave him credit for, and he had to start acknowledging him for it.

"What?"

"Go find Nyssa, and then I want the two of you to go be with Leo."

"Why?"

"Because he needs you."

"If he needs me does that mean he's going to be okay?"

"I don't know, but I do know that it'll help his chances if he sees you."

"Why?"

"Kid, enough with the twenty questions. Can you do this for me?"

"Y-yeah. What are going to do?" Harley asked and for the first time in what seemed like years, he smiled.

"I'm gonna find the person who did this." He assured and he nodded for Harley to get going. The little boy nodded in return and started his journey to where his older sister was waiting in the crowd. Half way there he paused, and turned to stare at the son of Jupiter.

"Hey Jason."

"Yeah?"

"Kick his ass."

* * *

><p>Leo was starting to get why people avoided the big house.<p>

It was actually kind of depressing. Maybe it was just all the nectar and morphine they had doped him up on talking, but Leo still couldn't shake the feeling that the big house sucked. Being stuck a bed with a recently closed gaping hole in his stomach wasn't helping his opinion of the place either.

The room he was in was bare, with only a desk, a bed, and a Leo, and it wasn't adding to the appeal of the big house. The entire room felt like what he imagined staying at a his grandma's would have felt like. Boring, accompanied with the desire to go home. What he wouldn't give to sleep at Cabin 9. At least there he could distract himself. From the pain, from his conversation with death, from everything. He could even play a fair amount of poker games before Jake cleaned him out. He was homesick.

He knew complaining should have been on his list of things not to do after returning from an early grave, but teenagers were designed to mope. Leo was no different, so he decided that he could embrace it for a day.

"Leo?" A voice called out and Leo jumped in response. He mentally cursed himself for not hearing the door squeak, and he felt a little guilt that whoever came in was about to receive the wrong end of his attitude. He was in a bad enough mood to get away with yelling at people, and he planned to use that advantage. Just like he did to the kid who had poured a gallon of nectar into his system.

But his anger died as soon as he saw who it was.

Harley.

"Hey Bro." He called out to his little brother, and Harley didn't need any more encouragement before he was flying across the room and launching himself into Leo's arms.

It hurt. Dear gods it hurt, but there was no way Leo was going to push the younger boy away. Not with the look of desperation that had crossed his features before being lost in their embrace.

"I thought you were dead." Harley's voice was weak, and he actually sounded his age for once. Not the tough soldier exterior he wore around like a bad Halloween costume.

"I thought I was too there for a second, hermano." Leo said, and he shifted his brother's position to where his head was resting in the crook of his neck. While giving his arms the freedom to wrap around him.

"Why did you save me?" Harley's asked, his voice shaking.

"What kind of question is that?"

"Why did you save me if you knew you could get hurt?"

"Because, if I didn't, it would have hurt worse."

Leo could feel the confusion roll of Harley in waves, and he knew Harley was still a bit too young to understand what he meant.

"How come?" Harley asked and his calloused hands found their way to the front of Leo's shirt. His clutched fists grasped the fabric and the wrinkles they were sure to leave would be impossible to smooth. Not that he would want to.

"Because, Harley. I was shot in the stomach, right?"

"Yeah." Harley said, his voice timid.

"Think how I would have felt if I were to get shot through the heart?"

* * *

><p>AN- It's finished! I feel so accomplished. Spelling errors probably ran free, but I needed to get this out considering I was already a day behind the day I told everyone I would have it done.

Another thing. A shout out to my friend Ryan! He recently had the courage to be himself, and he lost a lot for it, but he's still kicking. Proud of you buddy!

That's it. Review, Read, Go play with acid in the middle of the street (but not necessarily in that order).


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